Introduction to Off-Camera Lighting

[Dave M]

I've been an on-again/off-again snapshot photographer for several years, but since I bought my E-10 several months ago I've become much more serious about the subject. I own the FL-40 flash, LiPo grip, MCON, TCON-14B, etc., but I really need to know more about auxiliary off-camera lights---an area that I'm totally ignorant about! What are lightboxes and what are they best used for? How about slave flash units? (They're usually mounted on a tripod-like stand, right?) Or reflecting umbrellas---if that's what they're called...what types are there and do they make that much of a difference?

I've run searches on this forum, Dave Weikel's, Luminous Landscape, and the other more notable ones, but they all assume some knowledge of these things. Can anyone recommend a good book or web site that really explains these things in basic terms for novices like me?

I'm primarily interested in taking portrait shots---both indoor and outdoor---as well as capturing some more interesting artistic angles of still life.

Thanks in advance!

• Dave--Dave M

 

[mbond]

Flash (the only flash) was bounced off a white wall 1 metre to the left. The room was small enough for light to get reflected more than once, and further adjustment on Gimp (or Photoshop) was needed to achieve "drastic" result

 

[Ivan Farkas]

Dave,

An interesting place is the http://www.webphotoschool.com/ which has public and private lessons on various aspects of photography.

You might find Scott Smith's site http://www.lightingmagic.com/ helpful. He has a nice portrait and product galary and a lot of info on lighting in general.

Cheers,
Ivan

I've been an on-again/off-again snapshot photographer for several
years, but since I bought my E-10 several months ago I've become
much more serious about the subject. I own the FL-40 flash, LiPo
grip, MCON, TCON-14B, etc., but I really need to know more about
auxiliary off-camera lights---an area that I'm totally ignorant
about! What are lightboxes and what are they best used for? How
about slave flash units? (They're usually mounted on a tripod-like
stand, right?) Or reflecting umbrellas---if that's what they're
called...what types are there and do they make that much of a
difference?

I've run searches on this forum, Dave Weikel's, Luminous Landscape,
and the other more notable ones, but they all assume some
knowledge of these things. Can anyone recommend a good book or web
site that really explains these things in basic terms for novices
like me?

I'm primarily interested in taking portrait shots---both indoor and
outdoor---as well as capturing some more interesting artistic
angles of still life.

Thanks in advance!

• Dave

--
Dave M

 

[Jim N'AZ]

Dave, Try this site for some good, free lessons.
http://www.dpreview.com/misc/rdr.asp?url=http://www.zuga.net/ Regards, Jim N'AZ

An interesting place is the http://www.webphotoschool.com/ which
has public and private lessons on various aspects of photography.

You might find Scott Smith's site http://www.lightingmagic.com/
helpful. He has a nice portrait and product galary and a lot of
info on lighting in general.

Cheers,
Ivan

I've been an on-again/off-again snapshot photographer for several
years, but since I bought my E-10 several months ago I've become
much more serious about the subject. I own the FL-40 flash, LiPo
grip, MCON, TCON-14B, etc., but I really need to know more about
auxiliary off-camera lights---an area that I'm totally ignorant
about! What are lightboxes and what are they best used for? How
about slave flash units? (They're usually mounted on a tripod-like
stand, right?) Or reflecting umbrellas---if that's what they're
called...what types are there and do they make that much of a
difference?

I've run searches on this forum, Dave Weikel's, Luminous Landscape,
and the other more notable ones, but they all assume some
knowledge of these things. Can anyone recommend a good book or web
site that really explains these things in basic terms for novices
like me?

I'm primarily interested in taking portrait shots---both indoor and
outdoor---as well as capturing some more interesting artistic
angles of still life.

Thanks in advance!

• Dave

--
Dave M

 

[Tom Meeks]

Go to http://www.webphotoschool.com/

It is virtually ALL about lighting. Most of it was done with an E-10. They have free lessons and also have a school for $40 per year that includes a ton of great lessons on lighting & digital photography.

It's co-sponsored by some of the major digital camera companie (Olympus being one of them) and Photoflex, a maker of lights and the lightboxes that I use.

To see my first stab at using their lightboxes see the thread titled "Finally, A Sample Photo" in this forum.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&page=1&message=1249505

As for a good book on the subject, I'd suggest John Hedgecoe's "New Book of Photography" , published by Dorling Kindersley, 1994, ISBN 1-56458-508-5

It's really a wonderful book, covering just about every type of photography setup you could imagine in a particularly helpful manner.

I've been an on-again/off-again snapshot photographer for several
years, but since I bought my E-10 several months ago I've become
much more serious about the subject. I own the FL-40 flash, LiPo
grip, MCON, TCON-14B, etc., but I really need to know more about
auxiliary off-camera lights---an area that I'm totally ignorant
about! What are lightboxes and what are they best used for? How
about slave flash units? (They're usually mounted on a tripod-like
stand, right?) Or reflecting umbrellas---if that's what they're
called...what types are there and do they make that much of a
difference?

I've run searches on this forum, Dave Weikel's, Luminous Landscape,
and the other more notable ones, but they all assume some
knowledge of these things. Can anyone recommend a good book or web
site that really explains these things in basic terms for novices
like me?

I'm primarily interested in taking portrait shots---both indoor and
outdoor---as well as capturing some more interesting artistic
angles of still life.

Thanks in advance!

• Dave

--
Dave M

 

[Ivan Farkas]

While you're at Zuga.net, if you're interested in portraits, check out http://www.zuga.net/freelessons/JZCH1.asp , Joe Zelstsman's tutorial on "classic" portraiture.

It's a solid 18-chapter tutorial on photographing people in the studio--lighting and posing, etc.

An excerpt from the intro:

"Joe retired at age 80. He is a LIFE MEMBER of Professional Photographers of America, American Society of Photographers, Professional Photographers Association of New Jersey, and Cameracraftsmen of America, Inc.. Shortly after his 90th birthday, he bought a computer, printer, scanner, spent endless hours learning to use it, and compiled the material he has been teaching for so many years into book form, that is now published on the zuga website, as his legacy free to all. "

Dave, Try this site for some good, free lessons.
http://www.dpreview.com/misc/rdr.asp?url=http://www.zuga.net/
Regards, Jim N'AZ